Authors: Pereira, Roberto M.; Koehler, Philip G.; Pfiester, Margie; Walker, Wayne

Source: Journal of Economic Entomology, Volume 102, Number 3, June 2009 , pp. 1182-1188(7)

Publisher: Entomological Society of America

Abstract:

Bed bugs, Cimex lectularius L., hide in cracks and crevices in furniture and are difficult to control. The bed bug thermal death kinetics were examined to develop a heat treatment method to eliminate bed bug infestations in room contents. High temperatures caused temporary immobilization (knockdown) of bed bugs even with exposures that did not have lethal effects. Exposure of bed bug adults to 39°C for 240 min caused no mortality; however, as temperatures increased from 41 to 49°C, exposure times that caused 100% mortality decreased. The temperature difference to provide a 10-fold change in the mortality was estimated at 4°C, and the estimated activation energy (E_A) was between 484 and 488.3 kJ/mol. This demonstrates that bed bugs are not more resistant or susceptible to changes in temperature than other tested insects and that the temperatures needed to kill bed bugs are relatively low. In room treatment tests, heat treatment times varied from 2 to 7 h with complete mortality of exposed bed bugs within the treatment envelope created by surrounding the treated furniture with polystyrene sheathing boards. Containment and circulation of heat around the treated material were crucial factors in an efficient heat treatment for bed bug control. The room floor material greatly affected containment of the heat. The tested method for limited heat treatment of furniture and other room contents required equipment costing less than US030400 and provided opportunity for residual pesticide application around the room with minimal disruption in use of treated room.

Keywords: Cimex lectularius; heat treatment; control; lethal temperature; bed bug

Document Type: Research article

Publication date: 2009-06-01

More about this publication?

• Journal of Economic Entomology is published bimonthly in February, April, June, August, October, and December. The journal publishes articles on the economic significance of insects and is divided into the following sections: apiculture & social insects; arthropods in relation to plant disease; forum; insecticide resistance and resistance management; ecotoxicology; biological and microbial control; ecology and behavior; sampling and biostatistics; household and structural insects; medical entomology; molecular entomology; veterinary entomology; forest entomology; horticultural entomology; field and forage crops, and small grains; stored-product; commodity treatment and quarantine entomology; and plant resistance. In addition to research papers, Journal of Economic Entomology publishes Letters to the Editor, interpretive articles in a Forum section, Short Communications, Rapid Communications, and Book Reviews.
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